Please welcome Abby Williams Nicolo as our new On-line Market Manager as we also say good-bye and many thanks and good wishes to Penny Bergeron our past manager. Friends of the Market may already know Abby as our Kid’s Corner Coordinator. Come greet Abby and join us November 16th for the first On-line Market Open House. Sample products and get ideas for holiday entertaining. Tim Mansfield will be sharpening,so bring those knives,scissors, chainsaw chains etc….

Beautiful pesticide-free Christmas trees and wreaths from Brookgreen Farm are available again this year for pre-order on the On-line Market. This is one of our largest fund-raising efforts for the Market. We appreciate your support and are pleased to be able to offer such a high quality product.

BrookgreenFarm

Caroling

Kids Activities

Parade

ChristmasTree Fundraiser

Christmas Tree

Join us Green Friday, November 25th and December 3rd, 11 am to 3 pm at Town Park for our Winter Markets and Christmas Tree Fundraisers. Enjoy free kids activities, listen to Christmas carols sung by the Highland Camerata at 12:30, shop for delicious local products and beautiful crafts, and pickup your pre-ordered Christmas trees and wreaths. In addition December 3 features the 2nd Annual Chili Cook-off. Free to enter, $5 to taste and vote for your favorite and $25 to the winner! Bring entries to the Market from 11-11:30.Tasting starts at 11:45 and the winner will be announced at 1:30. Be sure to stay for the Christmas Parade, it starts at 3pm.

We close out June with the 5th annual KIDS DAY on the 24th. Don’t miss this fun-filled day of FREE and FABULOUS kids activities and give-aways featuring Cowboy Don, Ranger Amelia, Miss Ellie, Grayson County 4H, Blue Ridge Discovery Center and the Virginia Department of Health.

July 1st is Cooking Day with Chef Jen-she’s planning lots of simple veggie recipes. It’s also Wellness Day featuring the Virginia Department of Health and Dr. Karen. We’ll also be in the 4th of July Parade in Downtown Independence.

The Wednesday Evening Market is now open every Wednesday from 4-7pm. The On-line Market is also open for your shopping convenience. So many opportunities for fresh, local products!

July 17 is the Berry Festival and our 3rd monthly Fiber Day. Start your ovens and plan to enter the Berry Pie Contest! We’ll be selling delicious berry sorbet as a fund-raiser for the Market.

July closes with Take a Break from the Interstate HWY 21 Yardsale.On the 29th the Farmers Market will include yard sale. items as well as our usual array of fabulous local products. Saturday and Sunday will see the lot filled with vendors selling a little bit of everything.

It’s finally June and starting to feel like summer! Lots of produce is coming into the Market and Chef Jen is ready to cook this Friday, June 3rd. To date the menu includes carrot top pesto, grilled kale salad, beef with shiitakes, edible flowers, curried beets and carrots and ….June 10th is Herb Day featuring Ellen Reynolds of Beagle Ridge Herb Farm. June 15th marks the Grand opening of the Wednesday Evening Market from 4-7pm and the reopening of the On-line Market. June 17th is the 2nd monthly Fiber Day. June closes out with the 5th Annual Kids Day on June 24th. Don’t miss the weekly Kids activities each Friday with Abby from 10-11am.

If you missed the cooking demonstration and recipes for the Rooted in Appalachia Roadshow, here they are…

Miss Pattie’s favorite Stirfry:

1/2 cup of 5 vegetables: Pattie chose peas, cauliflower, broccoli, green onions and mushrooms and 1/4 cup of soy sauce. She washed and chopped the veggies to small bite size pieces and sauted in a little oil until tender and seasoned with soy sauce.

In addition, Michelle added 2 quick and fun recipes for raw carrots:

“Dirt Dip” from Martha Stewart Living featured roasted kalamata olives over a ricotta cheese dip. Dry the olives for 3 hours in a 275 oven. Process in a food proceessor until finely chopped. Set aside. Mix 1 cup ricotta with 1 tablespoon heavy cream and whip. Top with olive “dirt” and serve with baby vegetables.

Chef Jen will be cooking June 5th. Come out for free samples and watch her do her magic on fresh veggies and meats from the market.June 12th is Herb Day featuring Ellen Reynolds of Beagle Ridge Herb Farm. The first free class at 10 am will feature herb plants for bugs. See caterpillars and the butterflies they become. At 11:30 Ellen will discuss the Top 10 herbs and how to grow and use them. At 1pm she’ll show how to make tasty herb butters, dips, and spreads.June 19th is Fiber Day featuring JoAnn Bondy.June 26th is the 4th Annual Kids Day. Join Blue Ridge Discovery Center, Ranger Amelia, Cowboy Don Call, In Total Health, and the Girl Scouts for a full day of free activities for kids of all ages.